Tooth Plates of Ceratodus (Dipnoi, Ceratodontidae) from the Upper Jurassic Shaximiao Formation of Guang’an, Sichuan Province, China

Ceratodus is a form genus of ceratodontid lungfishes. Until now, only 14 specimens have been reported from the Mesozoic of China. Detailed measurements and characteristic comparisons based on 15 well-preserved lungfish tooth plates of Ceratodus type, uncovered from the upper member of the Upper Jurassic Shaximiao Formation at Luojiashan, Qianfeng District, Guang''an, Sichuan Province in 2019, allow us to establish a new species, Ceratodus guanganensis sp. nov., on the basis of its small swollen irregular triangular tooth plate with four low and swollen radial crests on the occlusal surface without denticles. Other specimens from the same locality can be referred to C. szechuanensis and C. youngi. This is the first discovery of Ceratodus in the Guang''an region and represents the fifth Ceratodus fossil site in the Sichuan Basin. The discovery indicates that the climate was hot and arid in the Sichuan Basin during the Late Jurassic, and reveals a tectonic paleogeographic relationship between the Yangtze block in southwestern China and the Kola Basin in northern Thailand.     

The bivalve Anopaea (Inoceramidae) from the Upper Jurassic–lowermost Cretaceous of Mexico

In Mexico, the Upper Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous La Casita and coeval La Caja and La Pimienta formations are well-known for their abundant and well-preserved marine vertebrates and invertebrates. The latter include conspicuous inoceramid bivalves of the genus Anopaea not formally described previously from Mexico. Anopaea bassei (Lecolle de Cantú, 1967), Anopaea cf. stoliczkai (Holdhaus, 1913), Anopaea cf. callistoensis Crame and Kelly, 1995 and Anopaea sp. are rare constituents in distinctive Tithonian–lower Berriasian levels of the La Caja Formation and one Tithonian horizon of the La Pimienta Formation. Anopaea bassei was previously documented from the Tithonian of central Mexico and Cuba, while most other members of Anopaea described here are only known from southern high latitudes. The Mexican assemblage also includes taxa which closely resemble Anopaea stoliczkai from the Tithonian of India, Indonesia and the Antarctic Peninsula, and Anopaea callistoensis from the late Tithonian to ?early Berriasian of the Antarctic Peninsula. Our new data expand the palaeogeographical distribution of the high latitude Anopaea to the Gulf of Mexico region and substantiate faunal exchange, in the Late Jurassic–earliest Cretaceous, between Mexico and the Antarctic Realm.     

Stratigraphy and ecostratigraphic distribution of foraminiferal morphogroups from the Upper Jurassic of the Makar’yev section (Unzha River,Volga River basin)

Investigation of the Upper Callovian to Lower Kimmeridgian microfossils from the Makar’yev reference section (Unzha River, East European Platform) has been carried out. The section is characterized by ammonite debris and abundant associations of benthic and planktic foraminifers. It is a perfect object for stratigraphic and paleoecological researches. The biostratigraphic distribution of foraminifers from the Makar’yev section allows one to identify standard foraminifera zones of the East European Platform, as well as to upgrade some of them. The analysis of vertical and lateral ammonites and foraminiferal distribution, completed with litho stratigraphy, has precised the stratigraphic volume and position of boundaries of several lithological units.An improved stratigraphic scheme for the Kostroma area of the Moscow Depression is proposed. Analysis of the composition, structure, and dynamic changes of the foraminiferal assemblages has been performed. The morphofunctional analysis of foraminiferal genera has for the first time identified how foraminiferal morphogroups differing in their life style and feeding strategy varied with short-term paleoenvironmental changes. These morphogroup changes allow establishing four ecostratigraphic levels. These paleoecological data have been calibrated along with geochemical factors. They have shown a crisis of foraminiferal association during the Late Oxfordian and Early Kimmeridgian. A similar crisis has also been discovered in the north of Siberia, which may be an argument for its global distribution. The analysis of the taxonomic composition and the density of foraminiferal associations, in parallel with the structure of the association, has revealed a succession of transgressive and regressive events during the Late Callovian-Early Kimmeridgian. It allows the typification of each assemblage in relation with each event and underlines the occurrence of second-order sea-level fluctuations (middle part of the Middle Oxfordian and the earliest Kimmeridgian).     

High-resolution cyclostratigraphic analysis from magnetic susceptibility in a Lower Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) marl–limestone succession (La Méouge,Vocontian Basin,France)

High-resolution magnetic susceptibility (MS) analysis was carried out on a Lower Kimmeridgian alternating marl–limestone succession of pelagic origin that crops out at La Méouge (Vocontian Basin, southeastern France). The aim of the study was to characterize the strong, dm-scale sedimentary cyclicity of the succession at a very high resolution, and to analyze the cycles for evidence of astronomical forcing. From marl to limestone, MS varies progressively and closely tracks the highest frequency cyclicity corresponding to the basic marl–limestone couplets. Long-term wavelength cycling modulates the high-frequency cyclicity (couplets), and appears to be controlled by clay content. Spectral analysis of the MS record reveals the presence of the complete suite of orbital frequencies in the precession, obliquity, and eccentricity (95–128 ka and 405 ka) bands with very high amplitude of the precession index cycles originating from dm-scale couplets. 405 ka-eccentricity cycles are very pronounced in the MS maxima of the marl members of the couplets, suggesting eccentricity-driven detrital input to the basin. 405 ka-orbital tuning of the MS maxima further sharpens all of the orbital frequencies present in the succession. These results are similar to those of previous studies at La Méouge that used carbonate content observed in field. Our results are also in accordance with cyclostratigraphic studies in Spain and Canada that report dominant precession index forcing. By contrast, in the Kimmeridge Clay (Dorset, UK), obliquity forcing dominates cyclic sedimentation, with weaker influence from the precession index. Ammonite zone duration estimates are made by counting the interpreted precession cycles, and provide an ultra-high resolution assessment of geologic time. In sum, this study demonstrates the power of the MS as a proxy in characterizing the high-resolution cyclostratigraphy of Mesozoic sections, particularly in alternating marl–limestone successions, and for high-resolution correlation and astronomical calibration of the geologic time scale.     

A New Lizard (Lepidosauria: Squamata) from the Upper Cretaceous of Henan, China

Funiusaurus luanchuanensis gen. et sp. nov. was described on the basis of an incomplete skull from the Upper Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of the Tantou Basin in Luanehuan County, Henan Province. It is the second representative of lizards known from Luanchuan and adds a new member to the Luanchuan Fauna. F. luanchuanensis is a small-sized lizard and systematically assigned to the Polyglyphanodontidae of the Teiioidea because of the presence of a caniniform tooth and an elongate posterior process of the postorbital. It is distinctive in that the heterodont dentition bears 19 teeth in both the upper and lower jaws, the 3^rd maxillary tooth is large and caniniform, the post-caniniform teeth in maxilla and those posterior to the 3^rd dentary tooth are chisel-like in lateral view, the prefrontal possesses a fossa on its lateral surface, the postorbital with an extremely elongate posterior process and the well-developed retroarticular process has a deep fossa on its dorsal surface. In phylogeny, our analysis suggests a close relationship of Funiusaurus to the large-sized Tianyusaurus from the same basin within the Tuberocephalosaurinae. The discovery of Funiusaurus is significant in confirming the status of the Tuberocephalosaurinae, which includes a group of the Asian members of the Polyglyphanodontidae only.     

Stability assessment of sandstones from the St. Servatius Church in Quedlinburg (UNESCO’s World Heritage Site,Germany)

The St. Servatius Church in Quedlinburg (UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, Germany) is characterised by long-standing stability problems and structural damages, which have been known over the last several centuries. The monotonous Cretaceous sandstone with its poor lithification is considered to be the main factor. The sandstone is characterised by a high porosity of around 30 Vol.% (max. ca. 35 Vol.%) and a corresponding high w-value. The porosity and the degree of cementation are responsible for the very low compressive strength of around 8 MPa at maximum, whereas under moisture these values are significantly reduced up to 40%. The freeze–thaw tests indicate a very poor resistance to frost weathering, which may explain the near-surface softening of the sandstone. Direct shear experiments with an approximate 60° angle of friction on the sandstone clearly demonstrate the safety margins. Initial geotechnical modelling does not favour the hypothesis that a landslide of the hill parallel to the southward dipping bedding planes (i.e. shear failure along weak zones) can occur. A prominent clay layer (also with a southward dip) below the entire castle hill is monitored to determine the possible amount of movement with respect to the geological discontinuities (e.g. joints, fractures). At present, a combination of foundation problems are being considered for the stability situation at the church. These include construction deficiencies due to deformation or softening of the foundation of the forerunner churches and missing or faulty connections from building additions. Geological factors responsible for the stability problems include the softening of the sandstone by the influence of weathering and penetrating water as well as the presence of possible shear planes and joints.     

The First Stegosaur （Dinosauria, Ornithischia） from the Upper Jurassic Shishugou Formation of Xinjiang, China

A new stegosaur species, Jiangjunosaurus junggarensis, gen. et sp. nov., is erected based on a specimen collected from the Upper Jurassic upper section of the Shishugou Formation in the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China. It represents the first stegosaur from the Jurassic of Xinjiang and increases the diversity of the dinosaur fauna in the Shishugou Formation. The new genus is characterized by symmetrical and proportionally wide tooth crowns, a sub-rectangular axial neural spine seen in lateral view, and large openings on the lateral surfaces of the cervical centra. A preliminary character analysis suggests that this new taxon is more derived than the Middle Jurassic stegosaur Huayangosaurus but more primitive than most other known stegosaur species.     

Two New Wasps (Hymenoptera: Stephanoidea: Ephialtitidae) from the Middle Jurassic of China

Two new species of wasps belonging to the family Ephialtitidae,Praeproapocritusflexus sp.nov.and Proapocritus parallelus sp.nov.,from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of southeastern Inner Mongolia,China,are described and illustrated.Praeproapocritus vulgates Rasnitsyn ＆ Zhang,2010 and six species of Proapocritus,P.densipediculus,P.sculptus,P.longantennatus,P.formosus,P.atropus,and P.elegans,all described by Rasnitsyn and Zhang in 2010,are first record from the Middle Jurassic of China.These two new findings supplement the morphological understanding of ephialtitids in the Middle Jurassic of China and broaden the diversity of ephialtitids in their by-gone ecosystems.     

Two New Fossil Sawflies (Hymenoptera, Xyelidae, Xyelinae) from the Middle Jurassic of China

Two new genera with two new species of sawflies, Cathayxyela extensa gen. et sp. nov. and Aequixyela immensa gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of southeastern Inner Mongolia, China, are assigned to the subfamily Xyelinae （Hymenoptera, Xyelidae）. Cathayxyela gen. nov. can be distinguished by the third antennal article longer than the head; mesoprescutum and mesoscutellum nearly equal in length; the forewing with Sc meeting C before the junction of 1-M and 1- Rs; a weak and narrow pterostigma; and 3-Cu at least 1.5 times longer than the lm-cu. Aequixyela gen. nov. is characterized by the third antennal article nearly as long as the head; the forewing with Rs＋M approximately equal to 2-Rs in length; 2m-cu inclined toward the wing base and nearly reaching the middle of cell 3rm; lm-cu as long as the 2-Cu and 3-Cu; and the cell 2cua of regular hexagonal shape.     

New Genus and Species of Rhyacophilidae (Insecta: Trichoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of China

One new genus with a new fossil species,Declinimodus setulosus gen.et sp.nov.which was found in the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou,Inner Mongolia,China,are described and illustrated.The new species is assigned to the Rhyacophilidae according to buttonshaped of the 2nd segment of maxillary palp,and the forked R1 （in the forewing,located near apex）.These new discovery are the earliest fossil records of Rhyacophilidae,which providing important evident for the study of the origin and early evolution of Trichoptera.     

Facies Analysis and Sequence Stratigraphy of the Qal’eh Dokhtar Formation (Middle–Upper Jurassic) in the West of Boshrouyeh, East Central Iran

The study area is located in the east Tabas Block in Central Iran. Facies analysis of the Qal’eh Dokhtar Formation (middle Callovian to late Oxfordian) was carried out on two stratigraphic sections and applied to depositional environment and sequence stratigraphy interpretation. This formation conformably overlies and underlies the marly-silty Baghamshah and the calcareous Esfandiar formations, respectively. Lateral and vertical facies changes documents low- to high energy environments, including tidal-flat, beach to intertidal, lagoon, barrier, and open-marine. According to these facies associations and absence of resedimentation deposits a depositional model of a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic ramp was proposed for the Qal’eh Dokhtar Formation. Seven third-order depositional sequences were identified in each two measured stratigraphic sections. Transgressive systems tracts (TSTs) show deepening upward trends, i.e. shallow water beach to intertidal and lagoonal facies, while highstand systems tracts (HST) show shallowing upward trends in which deep water facies are overlain by shallow water facies. All sequence boundaries (except at the base of the stratigraphic column) are of the no erosional (SB2) types. We conclude eustatic rather than tectonic factors played a dominant role in controlling carbonate depositional environments in the study area.     

New Isophlebioid Dragonflies from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China (Insecta: Odonata: Isophlebioptera: Campterophlebiidae)

Three new species of fossil dragonflies assigned to Sinokaratawia Nel, Huang and Lin in family Campterophlebiidae, i.e.S, daohugouica sp. nov., S. magica sp. nov. and S. gloriosa sp. nov., and new materials of male S. prokopi Nel, Huang and Lin, 2007 are described from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. An emended diagnosis of genus Sinokaratawia was proposed.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous from Argentina: Implications for the J-K boundary in the Neuquén Basin

A systematic sedimentologic and paleomagnetic study was carried out in the Vaca Muerta Formation, cropping out in the northern Neuquén Basin, west-central Argentina. The studied section is c. 280 m-thick and represents a carbonate ramp system bearing ammonites that indicate Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous ages. The Vaca Muerta Formation is one of the most important unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs in the world and its thorough study has become a relevant target in Argentina. The J-K boundary is comprised within this unit, and although it is well-dated through biostratigraphy (mainly ammonites), the position of particularly the boundary is yet a matter of hot debate. Therefore, the systematic paleomagnetic and cyclostratigraphic study in the Vaca Muerta Formation was considered relevant in order to obtain the first Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous magnetostratigraphy of the southern hemisphere on the first place and to precise the position of the J-K boundary in the Neuquén Basin, on the other. Biostratigraphy is well studied in the area, so that paleomagnetic sampling horizons were reliably tied, particularly through ammonites. Almost 450 standard specimens have been processed for this study distributed along 56 paleomagnetic sampling horizons that were dated using ammonites. Paleomagnetic behaviours showed to be very stable, and their quality and primary origin have been proved through several paleomagnetic field tests The resultant magnetostratigraphic scale is made up of 11 reverse and 10 normal polarity zones, spanning the Andean Virgatosphinctes mendozanus (lower Tithonian) to Spiticeras damesi Zones (upper Berriasian). These polarity zones were correlated with those of the International Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale 2012 and 2016 through the correlation between Andean and Tethyan ammonite zones. Cyclostratigraphy on the other hand, proved to be quite consistent with the magnetostratigraphy. Through the correlation of the resultant paleomagnetic and cyclostratigraphic data, it was possible to date the section with unprecedented precision, and therefore, to establish the position of the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary. The paleomagnetic pole calculated from the primary magnetization is located at: Lon = 191.6°E, Lat = 76.2°S, A₉₅ = 3.5°, indicating a c. 24° clockwise rotation for the studied section, which is consistent with structural data of the region.     

Paleomagnetism of the Cu�CZn�CPb-bearing Kupferschiefer black shale (Upper Permian) at Sangerhausen, Germany

Syngenetic, diagenetic and epigenetic models have been proposed for the Cu?CZn?CPb Kupferschiefer mineralization at Sangerhausen, Germany. Paleomagnetic and rock magnetic measurements have been made on 205 specimens from mine workings on the margin of the Sangerhausen Syncline. The mineralization is richest in the ??0.5-m-thick Upper Permian (258?±?2?Ma) Kupferschiefer black marly shale (nine sites) and dies out over ??0.2?m in the underlying Weisliegend sandstones (three sites) and overlying Zechstein carbonates (two sites). Except for one site of fault zone gypsum, characteristic remanent magnetization directions were isolated for all 14 sites using alternating field and thermal step demagnetization. These directions provide a negative fold test, indicating that the remanence postdates Jurassic fault block tilting. Rock magnetic measurements show that the Kupferschiefer shale marks a redox front between the oxidized Weissliegend sandstones and non-oxidized Zechstein carbonates. The 14 site directions give a Late Jurassic paleopole at 149?±?3?Ma. It is significantly different from the paleopole reported by E.C. Jowett and others for primary or early diagenetic Rote F?ule alteration that gives an age of 254?±?6?Ma on the current apparent polar wander path and is associated with Kupferschiefer mineralization. We suggest that the Late Jurassic extensional tectonic event that formed the nearby North German Basin also reactivated Variscan basement faults and extended them up through the overlying strata, thereby allowing hydrothermal basement fluids to ascend and epigenetically mineralize the Kupferschiefer shale. The possibility of a 53?±?3?Ma mineralization age is also considered.     

Mineralogy of Peridotite Xenoliths from the Komsomol’skaya–Magnitnaya Kimberlite Pipe (Upper Muna Field,Siberian Craton)

Doklady Earth Sciences - Novel data from mineralogical studies of the peridotite xenoliths from the Komsomol’skaya–Magnitnaya kimberlite pipe, Upper Muna field, Siberian craton, are...     

Cretornis hlavaci Frič, 1881 from the Upper Cretaceous of Czech Republic (Pterosauria,Azhdarchoidea)

Cretornis hlavaci Frič, 1881 from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) of Czech Republic is a valid taxon referred to Azhdarchoidea based on having a saddle-shaped humeral head, pneumatic foramen on proximal humerus present on anterior side and absent on posterior side, elongate deltopectoral crest with subparallel proximal and distal margins, pneumatic foramen absent on distal side of humerus, metacarpals I–III not articulated with carpus and displaced on anterodorsal side of wing metacarpal, and wing metacarpal much longer than humerus. Absence of a pneumatic foramen on posterior side of proximal humerus suggests attribution of Cretornis hlavaci to Neoazhdarchia. It has a unique construction of the distal ulna with a dorsal articulation surface placed distinctly proximal to the tuberculum shared only with the non-azhdarchid azhdarchoid Montanazhdarcho minor from the Campanian of North America. Cretornis hlavaci differs from the latter taxon by the structure of its humerus and distinctly longer wing metacarpal. It is more derived than “Tapejaridae” but shares with Azhdarchidae the deltopectoral crest of the humerus displaced distally from humeral head. Cretornis cannot be assigned to Azhdarchidae because of the oval cross section of the second wing phalanx. A unique rhombic outline of the distal humerus of Cretornis hlavaci is a possible autapomorphy for this taxon. Its wing span estimated as 1.5–1.6 m. This is the first taxon of non-azhdarchid pterosaurs known from the Upper Cretaceous of the Eastern Hemisphere.